Suit Yourself
by hotchityhotchhotch
Summary: Oneshot. A pool party at Rossi's place sets the scene for Emily's ongoing heartbreak. COMPLETE.


**A/N: this is for the Chit Chat "Heat Wave" challenge. I was assigned Emily and Rossi and had to use three of the following prompts: melting ice cream cone, swimming pool, bikini top, swim trunks, thunderstorm, soaring temperatures. Because I am awesome, I used all of them.**

**This oneshot is AU in that Emily did not leave the BAU. Yet.**

"Aren't we a little old for pool parties?" Hotch asked. For once, the team was all leaving on the same elevator.

"Lighten up," Rossi said. "It's a big people pool party. No water guns and no splashing."

"I've got plans," Hotch finally said.

"Ahh, Beth," Morgan said with a grin. "What've you guys got planned for tonight?"

"Bow-chicka-wow-wow," Garcia sang behind Hotch.

Hotch rolled his eyes. "Just a dinner date."

"Make it a pool party date," Rossi urged.

"Doesn't sound like much of a date," JJ muttered, checking text messages on her phone. "Leave him alone."

"Is it for a special occasion?" Reid asked.

"Yeah, actually. Six months," Hotch admitted.

"No way," Morgan said. "Has it really been that long? Congratulations, man."

"Well, is anyone else up for a swim?" Rossi asked. "I was gonna cook up some lobster."

"Well, you never said lobster," Garcia said. "I find myself suddenly without plans. Mind if I invite Kevin?"

"The more the merrier."

JJ, Reid, and Morgan all agreed to come as well. It was only Emily who had remained silent for the entire elevator ride. She purposely slowed down so she could walk alone to her car, but Rossi wasn't about to let that happen. "What about you?" he asked, slowing his pace until she caught up to him.

Emily shrugged and fiddled with her car keys. "I was kind of planning on relaxing tonight. It's been a long week."

Rossi eyed his friend meaningfully. "It was actually a pretty boring week. I think I know what's bugging you."

"Oh yeah?" Emily said somewhat cockily.

"But I'm keeping my mouth shut. Go home, grab your suit, and stop on by."

"Rossi, I don't even know if I own a swimsuit that fits."

"Then come as you are. No more excuses."

Emily forced a relenting half-grin. "Fine. I'll see you in a while."

—

"Hi, Uncle Dave," Henry said shyly, holding both of his mother's hands as she walked him through the front door.

"Why, hello. Come on in. Have you ever had lobster, Henry?"

Henry looked up to his mom and dad. "I dunno. Have I?"

JJ smiled. "Not yet. But I think you'll like it."

"God, it's hot," Emily griped when JJ sat down next to her on a patio chair out by Rossi's beautifully tiled, crystal clear pool. She was already finished with a glass of wine and was pulling at the top of her cotton dress, which clung to her sweaty skin.

"Did you bring your suit?" JJ asked.

"I have a no-swimsuits-in-front-of-coworkers rule," Emily said.

"I figured you did. I brought an extra in case you change your mind, or a few glasses of wine change your mind," JJ said. She snapped the yellow strap of her own bikini, worn underneath a white sundress, and opened up her purse to show a spare black two-piece.

"We'll see."

"Hi, Auntie Emily," Henry said suddenly in a failed attempt to startle Emily.

"Oh, hey, sweetie," Emily cooed, leaning forward and ruffling Henry's long blonde hair. "Did your Uncle Dave make you an ice cream cone?" Henry nodded fervently. "Well, that's not very nice of him—he didn't offer me one. Be careful, you're dripping."

"It's too bad Hotch couldn't make it," JJ said disappointedly. "It was almost a team outing. We haven't really had one since the wedding."

Emily's stomach promptly tied itself into a firm knot. "Yeah, it has been a while."

The women watched as Henry trotted off to his dad, who was stripped down to his swim trunks and ready to jump into the pool. "You okay?" JJ asked, laying a hand on Emily's shoulder.

"Eh. I don't know. I think I'm…getting that feeling again." She felt the warmth leave her face at the thought of it.

"I thought we all talked you out of that," JJ said, worried. "You love it here, you're amazing at what you do, and we love you. What's wrong? Did someone say something?"

"No, no," Emily said, waving away the idea. "It's just this feeling I can't get rid of. You're right, I do love it here, I'm good at my job, and you guys are my family. But if I'm still feeling this way three months after you talked me out of it? I think that's a sign."

JJ's blue eyes sparkled; she pursed her lips. "Don't make any decisions just yet. Let's just have a good time tonight and we can do brunch tomorrow and talk about it some more. You, me, and Garcia."

"I heard my name!" Garcia called from the steps of the pool. She stood out in a bright pink suit with giant white polka dots. That wasn't what disturbed them. It was the fact that Kevin's swim trunks matched. "I'll ask why later! Okay, Henry, no splashing, please. Auntie Garcia's makeup is not waterproof, nor is her hair."

"All that hairspray would clog the filter anyway," Morgan teased. He sat down near JJ and Emily, both of whom got their acts together.

"No more than the lotion you put on your hands," Reid said to Morgan.

"Do you have your phone on you?" Morgan asked.

"No, it's inside, why?" Reid said.

His question was answered by Morgan shoving him with ease into the pool.

—

"Are you sure you don't want a ride home?" JJ asked desperately. "I really don't mind. Henry's fast asleep. Will's already got him in the car."

"I'm fine. Kind of enjoying myself, actually." Once JJ and her family left, Emily would be the last remaining guest. The sun was long gone. But she and Rossi were only halfway through a spectacular bottle of wine, and now that the crowd had thinned, Emily had the peace she'd craved. "Thanks, though. I'll pick you up around noon tomorrow for brunch."

"Okay. Here, just in case you wanna take a dip in the hot tub." JJ reached into her purse and left the swimsuit on the table by the backdoor. "'Night, guys."

"'Night," Rossi and Emily echoed.

"Hot tub sure sounds good," Rossi said, cracking his back by twisting it. "Would you mind if I hopped in or would that make you uncomfortable? I know my svelte body has made many a woman too hot and bothered to compose themselves."

Emily failed to suppress a little laugh. "Go for it."

"You, too. There's plenty of room."

"Nah. I'll stick my feet in, maybe. It's really too hot for a hot tub."

"Suit yourself. No pun intended." Rossi left Emily sitting alone outside. She folded up the hot tub cover, pushed it to the side, and fiddled with the control panel. She perched herself on the edge and stuck her feet in, finding the hem of her dress utterly fascinating as she picked at a loose thread. "So," Rossi said once he reappeared and stepped into the hot tub.

"Hmm?"

"What's got you down?"

"I told you…just tired…"

"Of what, exactly?"

Rossi sounded like he knew the answer to his own question. Emily just gave him a mildly annoyed stare and got up. "I'm going inside to change. Hot tub sounds nice after all."

And once she was suited up and in the water, it felt even nicer. She turned her jets all the way up and closed her eyes, letting the tips of her loosely knotted hair get wet as she leaned her head back against the edge of the tub.

"I know it's not a nice feeling," Rossi said after what appeared to be a careful thought process.

"What's not a nice feeling? When you lose count of how many glasses of wine you've had?"

"No, that's a very good feeling. I was talking about not being able to have what you want."

Emily cast Rossi a sidelong glance and stared off into the trees that separated his yard from his neighbors'. "I appreciate the offer, but I really don't wanna talk about it," she said, licking her parched lips. "Not tonight. Not ever, really."

"With all due respect to your privacy, how exactly do you plan on achieving that? You see him five days a week."

Emily covered the further flushing of her cheeks with her wineglass, emptying it and pouring herself the remainder of the bottle. "I—"

"Hey, hope there's room for two more," Hotch said from the back door. "Mind if we join you for a bit? I've got a sitter till midnight and we brought suits." He swung Beth's hand between them; she waved and set her purse down.

"We'd be delighted. Grab a couple more bottles on your way out, would you?" Rossi said. He waited until the happy couple was back inside the house before turning back to Emily. "Sorry. Definitely didn't see that coming."

"It's okay. I'm a big girl, I can handle it," Emily said, though her mind went to a few torturous places when she wondered what Hotch and Beth had originally planned to do to kill time between dinner and midnight. She flattened her hand against the surface of the bubbling water, then adjusted the halter top on her suit. When it was just Rossi, the fact that JJ wasn't quite as curvy as Emily hadn't been a big deal. But now she felt like she was trying to show too much.

"I almost wish we would've come here to begin with," Beth said cheerily, draping a towel over a chair before Hotch led her into the hot tub by the hand, like a gentleman. Emily wished Beth would have been wearing something a bit skanky, just so she could justify her disdain, but her suit was a one-piece, age-appropriate and modest, just like everything else she wore.

"Didn't have a nice dinner?" Rossi inquired while Hotch poured out wine for himself, Beth, and Rossi.

"They screwed up our reservation," Hotch said, looking none too happy. "We ended up having to wait just like everyone else, and then our waiter got Beth's order completely wrong."

"It was still lovely, though," Beth said to console Hotch, who was understandably feeling like a failure. She reached a hand behind his back and scratched it.

"Good to hear," Rossi said.

"Happy six months," Emily managed with a smile.

"Thanks," Beth said, reading nothing but kindness in Emily's comment. The woman had done nothing to Emily. Save for one thing. The one thing that meant that no matter how nice Beth was, Emily would probably never truly be able to befriend her. The one thing that meant that Emily would have to be careful about how she acted around her from now on. "You know, I'll be honest," Beth said, having Hotch's full attention, "I didn't think we'd make it this far. I just thought he was cute and he could keep up with my jokes, so why not?"

"Thanks," Hotch said with a chuckle.

"You know I love you," Beth said, closing in for a kiss.

Hotch smiled against her lips. "I love you, too."

"You'll have to let me cook you dinner next time," Rossi said. "I won't make you wait and I won't mess up your order."

"We might take you up on that. I see you had lobster," Beth said brightly. "You know how to throw a party."

"He does. So you guys had a good time?" Hotch asked Rossi and Emily.

"Yeah, it was nice," Emily said with a vague smile. "Good way to end the week."

The four of them seemed happy to bask in some hard-earned peace and quiet for a while. Emily shut her eyes again, trying to think of anything else but hearing Hotch proclaiming his love for someone else, seeing him cozied up next to her. And not that Emily had any illusions about Hotch and Beth having had slept together already, Beth removed any doubt whatsoever by not being the least bit distracted by the fascinating array of scars across Hotch's abdomen. This meant she was familiar with his body already. The sight was new to (though not unimagined by) Emily, but seeing him less decent tonight made her sick to her stomach instead of the least bit excited.

Someone's phone rang by the back door. "That's me," Hotch said, hurrying for it. He had a very short conversation and returned with a regrettable look on his face. "Sorry, guys. Jack's sitter has a family emergency and Jessica's out of town. I have to get going."

Beth automatically pulled herself from the hot tub, too. "It was nice to see you guys," she said.

"Goodnight," Hotch said with a wave to his friends. He held Beth's towel open for her just as some thunder rumbled in the distance. "Good timing, I guess."

Emily and Rossi issued halfhearted goodnights and had no choice but to listen to Hotch not-so-covertly asking Beth if she wanted to accompany him back to his apartment for the night.

"He's a blockhead," Rossi said after a while. Emily took this as Rossi insulting Hotch and his taste just to make her feel better, but he continued. "He won't know unless you tell him. Not like this, anyway. He's too distracted to figure it out on his own."

"I can't mess with that, nor would I if I could," Emily said, shaking her head slowly and draining her final glass of wine. "Six months, they're obviously happy, they're in love…I'm not putting myself in that position and I'm not putting him in it either."

"So you're just gonna sit around and wait for things to change?"

"I haven't looked for someone in so long, Rossi," Emily said with a troubled sigh after taking a while to formulate what she wanted to say. "Maybe because I assumed there was something there. I was just…waiting until I felt comfortable enough in my own skin again, but he found her before that happened. Anyway, my point is…if things between them don't work out and he finds himself looking again, I'll probably still be single. I don't know if I'll let myself pine for very long, but I'm probably pathetic enough to wait around for him. I think that's just the wine talking, though. I swear, I'm much stronger than this."

"We all have our weaknesses."

"Yeah, well, I thought mine was bacon cheeseburgers." Emily was just realizing how prune-like her fingers were getting when she felt water dripping on her cheeks. For a second, she wondered if she'd started crying without knowing it. But then she heard the thunder, louder this time. The lightning must have been flashing somewhere behind her, because she couldn't see it to judge the timing of the thunder. It just sounded close enough to end their pool party.

"I'll set up one of the guest bedrooms for you," Rossi said, shutting down the hot tub.

"That's fine, I can sober up on the couch or catch a cab," Emily said, following Rossi inside. The air conditioning was an unpleasant shock.

"Nonsense. No one ever gets to sleep in my guest bedrooms. It's pathetic. Make yourself at home. Just don't wake me up in the morning."

Emily smirked. "Deal."

"So, are you leaving?"

Rossi's outwardly nonchalant question stopped Emily in her tracks. She knew the question wasn't referring to her leaving his house.

If she couldn't be honest with him, then their friendship meant nothing. "Yeah, I think so. I tried to tough it out, but—"

"There's no need to explain. You know, people assume that three divorces means I've broken three hearts. But it was a two-way street. Like I said, I know how it feels when you can't have what you want. So if you have to get away, then get away."

Emily wrapped her towel tightly around her chest, shivering. "Thank you."

"Anytime. I won't be as understanding if you take off for London, though. Since it's all about me and it always will be, I do expect you to stay stateside."

"That job's long gone, anyway. I think I can find something on this side of the pond."

Rossi nodded and hit the kitchen light. "Nightcap?" he offered.

She laughed. "Only you, Rossi. Only you. Go to bed."

He showed her his nicest guest bedroom, complete with a king-size four-poster and higher thread-count sheets than Emily had ever touched. Once tucked away in her day clothes, and with her alarm set to wake her up in the morning, she let the wine close in on her, let it push her easily into some much-needed sleep.

But before she fell completely under, her phone vibrated. When she saw Hotch's name on the screen, several fantasies played in her head—Hotch hiding in another room at his apartment and telling Emily something forbidden; Hotch asking if Emily was all right, and Emily caving and confessing everything, only to find out that Hotch had felt the very same thing; Hotch even calling just to say that it had been nice to see her outside of work and that he hoped she would have a nice weekend.

But to add insult to injury, his reason for calling was nowhere near what she'd dreamed up. "Hey, Hotch," she answered, clearing her throat. "What's up?"

"Are you still at Dave's, by chance? He's not answering his phone and I can't find my watch. I was just wondering if I'd left it there."

"I'm still here, at least until I can drive. I can go check—"

"_Aaron, come on!_" Emily heard Beth call in the background. _"The movie's starting!"_

"_Yeah, c'mon, Daddy!"_

"You know what," Hotch said, "don't worry about it. I'll drop by in the morning. I have some errands to run. Thanks anyway."

Emily swallowed back her tears long enough to finish up the conversation. "Sure. I'll see you Monday. Have a nice weekend."

**A/N: No, no sequels. And yes, it was insanely hard to write this. Please leave a review! Thank you!**

**P.S. My oneshot "Tell" will cheer you up. I promise!**


End file.
